


Second chance

by ScriptaManent



Series: Seijoh week 2020 [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Animal Rescue, Belonging, Dogs, Don't worry the dog has a happy ending, Implied animal cruelty (they rescue the dog), Kyoutani is a dog person, Kyoutani is sweeter than he looks, M/M, Parallels, Second Chances, bonding moment, mentioned blood and injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26161786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScriptaManent/pseuds/ScriptaManent
Summary: It was in a dark alley that Kyoutani found her, one bloody mess of a dog, left behind among bins and trash bags. It didn’t take him one second to decide he would bring her home, and it didn’t take any longer for Yahaba to choose to help him.
Relationships: Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru
Series: Seijoh week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1985593
Comments: 4
Kudos: 119
Collections: Seijoh Week 2020





	Second chance

**Author's Note:**

> ✰ Seijoh Week 2020 – Day 4: Pets ✰  
> Thank you @dazzletwig for the beta work and feedback ♡
> 
> Please read the tags! This is a sweet story but it features an injured dog that Kyoutani and Yahaba rescue. Nothing is very graphic but blood is mentioned and they find her abandoned in a back alley, so this may trigger some people!

Kyoutani was on his way home from an interminable volleyball practise when a low sound made him jump from the pavement onto the road, earning him furious horn honking from a driver that nearly hit him with her car. Unaffected by the near-death experience, the young man kept his gaze focused on what he supposed was the source of the sound.

It seemed to be coming from a back alley tucked between two restaurants and filled with smelly trash bins full to the brim.

His bag balanced on his shoulder, Kyoutani approached carefully, ready to dodge any attack coming his way. Every one of his muscles tensed in anticipation; adrenaline rushed through his veins. This was his default setting – fight or flight.

Kyoutani entered the narrow alley and walked around the bins and trash bags, careful not to make a sound. That was where he found the dog, her fur soaked in blood and her eyes wild and mad – eyes that looked like his; the look of a cornered animal fighting for its life.

“Hachiko?” the teenager couldn’t help but say aloud, staring in surprise at the Akita Inu that looked line for line like the famous Japanese dog.

The animal growled lower, licking her lips and baring her teeth. She would have snapped when Kyoutani came closer had she not been tied to a solid gutter. Judging by her famished appearance and gross fur, the dog had probably been abandoned there days before, injuring herself every time she tried to break free from the chain tightly wrapped around her neck.

One hand up in the air, never taking his eyes off the beast, Kyoutani sat down on the bare ground a few meters away from her. He carefully slid his bag up front and tossed the animal what was left of his lunch – vegetables and a slice of bread.

The dog didn’t even pay attention to the food, too stressed to even care, and Kyoutani let out an irritated sigh.

He got it, though. He knew what the poor dog had in mind – a level of pain and fear too high for her to be aware of anything else. Kyoutani knew what it was like to be on his own, unable or unwilling to trust anybody.

He had learnt how to get over it, too.

His eyes still on the animal, he slowly took his jacket off. It was the volleyball club jacket, but he didn’t care. It wasn’t like he was attached to it.

Kyoutani’s eyes locked with the dog’s when he threw the cloth in her direction, jumping on the animal’s back once he was sure her teeth wouldn’t reach his skin.

She yelped in pain and struggled for a moment before Kyoutani managed to grab her jaws and shut them tight. He had seen this technique on TV once, when a man had caught a fully grown alligator. Even though this may only be a weakened dog, Kyoutani had no doubt that the animal could rip his arms off with the same ease as the reptile.

“What the  _ hell _ are you doing?!” a familiar voice called from the main street, approaching without hesitation.

Whether the boy or the dog growled louder, nobody could tell.

“Taking her home,” Kyoutani barked without further explanation, glaring at the newcomer. What was  _ he _ even doing here?!

Yahaba took one second to take the scene in, from his teammates’ blood- and dirt-stained trousers to the originally white jacket smearing into the same mess, to the silvery chain that glinted near Kyoutani’s arm.

“Okay, let me help you,” the setter declared, stepping closer. “You got her?”

Kyoutani nodded firmly, tightening his grip on the dog’s muzzle, his knees pressed against the animal’s ribs so that she wouldn’t storm off.

Yahaba walked around them, an uncertain gleam in his eyes. He slid his hand along the metal chain, looking for a way to untangle it, but the dog’s owner had made sure that she wouldn’t be able to escape without at least a bolt cutter to break her free.

“We’ll have to take the leash off the collar,” Yahaba warned, glancing at Kyoutani who only glared back at him. “Ready?”

Kyoutani couldn’t care less about his teammate’s attempt at communication. He grunted a vague reply, his whole attention focused on the movements of the animal beneath him. As soon as the dog was set free, Kyoutani lifted her, careful to keep the dirty fabric wrapped around the animal, the dog’s muzzle tucked into a sleeve so that she could breathe without any risk of biting.

He would have left his school bag behind if Yahaba had not taken it with him as he followed his teammate home.

In every street, people were sending them weird looks, but to be fair, Yahaba couldn’t blame them. Who wouldn’t take a second look at a rebellious-looking teenager soaked in blood and holding a struggling animal half his size against his chest?

As they kept walking, the dog fell awfully quiet, and worry washed over Yahaba. “Do you think she’s alright?”

“She’s gushing blood,” Kyoutani snapped with such violence that Yahaba’s jaw clenched visibly.

A frown creased the setter’s forehead, half angry and half concerned, and for a second he wondered which one of the dog or the teenager was the most affected by the situation. Well, it wasn’t a reason to lash out on him either.

“We should find a better muzzle and check where the blood is coming from,” he decided, hoping that pragmatism would help defuse the bomb.

“Mostly her leg and throat,” Kyoutani replied immediately, much to the other’s surprise. “She couldn’t walk and the collar was too tight.”

“She’s probably dehydrated too,” Yahaba added, carefully studying the other.

Kyoutani wasn’t usually that different on and off the court. He was always wary, studying his environment as if looking for emergency exits. This was the first time Yahaba saw him care about anything – or at least anything other than spiking a ball or challenging Iwaizumi –, and the thought made him take a fresh look at his teammate. It was a side of him he would never have suspected to exist.

It didn’t take long — barely ten minutes — for them to reach Kyoutani’s home. The teenager crossed the yard without stopping, Yahaba hesitantly following his trail, and settled the dog in the garden shed.

Without a second thought, Kyoutani reached for the sleeve tucked under the dog’s belly and tore it off. He rolled it up a few times, until it was tight enough, and exchanged it with the first makeshift muzzle so that they could take a better look at the animal.

_ The coach is gonna be furious _ , Yahaba mused, eyeing his friend as he proceeded to fill a basin with water and dropped a sponge into it.

“It’s getting dark. Do you mind if I stay overnight?” he instead asked after a quick glance at the sky, stiffening when Kyoutani froze mid-move and sent him a distrustful look that was oddly similar to the dog’s. “My cousin’s a vet. I think I can help you.”

It wasn’t the kind of team bonding he had expected to ever experience, but it was worth a try, and he was sincerely worried by the situation. Whether he was more afraid for the dog or his teammate, he wasn’t sure.

Kyoutani crouched down slowly to take the wet sponge from the basin, silently staring at his teammate.

“Switch the light on,” he eventually said, pointing at something behind Yahaba’s shoulder.

Since it wasn’t a firm no, he supposed he could stay. “Let me text my parents and I’ll help you with the dog,” Yahaba declared, searching the other’s face for any trace of hostility, but there was nothing out of the ordinary in Kyoutani’s expression.

They worked together in silence, cleaning the animal’s fur and taking a look at her injuries. Fortunately, most of them were only scratches, and Kyoutani had everything needed to disinfect them. She probably had a sprained leg as well, and the teenagers crafted a splint out of wood planks and bandages. After an exhausting hour, the dog already looked better.

“I didn’t know you were so good with animals,” Yahaba prompted, side-eyeing the other.

“I’ve got lots of dogs,” Kyoutani replied with a shrug, his gaze on the animal. “When I got Tofu, she was worse than this, and she kept biting.”

Yahaba raised an eyebrow, his lips quirking into the smallest smile. “Tofu?”

“Akita Inu. She’s probably sleeping in my room,” the other shrugged again.

He reached into his pocket and tossed his phone to the setter without looking at him.

“Lockscreen,” he said.

With another surprised glance, Yahaba pushed the power button. The screen displayed a dark haired boy crouching down, a huge dog in his arms and a big smile upon his face. It was a sight so oddly soft and domestic that it took Yahaba several seconds to understand that it was Kyoutani on the picture, only years younger.

He couldn’t help the grin that curled his lips.

“How long do you think it’ll take for you to tame her?” Yahaba whispered once they were done tending to the dog.

They were crouching side by side, the dog facing them at a safe distance in a fresh and soft leash. She had water and food near her and a soft blanket for her to sleep on.

Kyoutani had ordered Yahaba to stay back and he had tied a rope around the makeshift muzzle. All that was left to do was to find the right moment to pull it off while staying out of reach of the animal.

“Tell me when,” Kyoutani eluded, and Yahaba sent him another surprised look. Since when was he listening to the setter?

He took a few more seconds to acknowledge the way Kyoutani avoided eye contact and nodded. “Go.”

The rope slid to them swiftly. Against all odds, the dog stayed put, exhausted and probably warm for the first time in days. Kyoutani studied her a bit longer, an almost soft look on his face. Then, he grabbed Yahaba’s wrist and dragged him closer to the dog without looking back.

He stopped in front of the animal and watched her a moment before he sat by her side, his back against the wall and his fingers still curled around Yahaba’s wrist.

“She was just afraid,” Kyoutani declared, reaching out to brush the animal’s fur with his free hand. It was clean and soft, so different from the rabid look it had had a few hours ago only.

“All she needed was for someone to care,” Yahaba completed, his voice sounding a bit distant as he thought about the whole situation.

He kept his eyes on the boy at his side as he spoke. This was a situation the spiker was familiar with — not knowing who to trust, fighting anyone whose gaze lingered a little too long. The feeling of insecurity, of being alone. Kyoutani had been there, but the team had kept a door open for him to come back if he wanted to. They had kept room for him, even when he didn’t want to belong.

“So, what are you gonna call her?” Yahaba eventually asked, bending forward to scratch the sleepy dog between the ears, terribly aware of the way Kyoutani’s fingers lingered on his skin, his grip warm and loose enough for Yahaba to take his hand back if he wanted.

“Lucky,” Kyoutani answered in a low voice.

She had been lucky enough to find someone to help her when everyone else had turned their back on her.

“Yeah, I guess it fits her,” Yahaba muttered.

His eyes drifted back to Kyoutani’s hand, now over his, to the soft and careful way he held it, and he thought that maybe Lucky wasn’t the only one who had been granted a second chance. After all, the door had been kept open for Kyoutani — and so had been Yahaba’s heart, apparently.

**Author's Note:**

> And this was the last official fic for Seijoh week!
> 
> There will be one more posted for Day 7 but it won't be in the collection because of more mature content!
> 
> Thank you for reading! ♡  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/AngstWeaver) | [Other Haikyuu fics](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScriptaManent/works?fandom_id=758208)


End file.
